Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of The Prevalence Of The West Nile Virus In Relation To Health Resilience Along The Gulf Of Mexico, Lillian Patricia Mata

LSU Master's Theses

As the Earth’s climate changes, coastal communities are increasingly vulnerable to the natural hazards that are driven by these processes, particularly in regards to the health of these communities. It has been shown that disease patterns can change in response to our environment, putting the health resilience of communities at risk. This study looks at the relationship between natural exposure and traditional resilience index variables in the context of the spread of West Nile Virus along the Gulf of Mexico. Through analysis of 534 counties, the West Nile Virus for 2001-2012 was analyzed as an incidence and incidence rate at …

Examining The Validity And Reliability Of The Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scales (It-Mais) Via Rasch Analysis, Anne Denise Schubert

LSU Master's Theses

In this study, we analyzed the validity and reliability of the Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scales (IT-MAIS; Zimmerman-Phillips, Osberger, & Robbins, 2001), an assessment designed to measure listening skills in children ages 0-3 years. The IT-MAIS is a caregiver report tool used by speech-language pathologists and audiologists to assess listening skills in children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) pre- and post-cochlear implant (CI). The IT-MAIS is widely used; however, it has not undergone thorough psychometric analysis. Using longitudinal data collected by the University of Iowa Children’s Cochlear Implant Program, we analyzed the psychometric properties of the IT-MAIS via Rasch analysis, …

Stochastic Operation Analysis Of Irrigation Reservoir In Low-Flow Conditions: A Case Study From Eleviyan Reservoir, Iran, Mohammad Taghi Sattari, Hali̇t Apaydin, Fazli Öztürk

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

In Iran, an arid and semiarid country, the distribution of precipitation is irregular and uneven, making the replenishment of reservoirs difficult during periods of scant rainfall. In this paper, a method has been devised to make available the maximum amount of water for irrigation, drinking, and the flow regime of Sofi Creek. The optimal performance of the Eleviyan Dam was evaluated based on reservoir inflows. Before the construction of the dam, 21 years of flow data (October 1973 to September 1994) was measured, and possible low flows were calculated. In this study, 2 scenarios are considered; the first scenario is …

Possibilities For Reducing Tractor Engine Friction Losses At Cold Start Using An Ultrasonic Irradiation Technique, Florin Mariasiu

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Challenges to the effectiveness of specific activities and production technologies in agriculture become more pressing each day as worldwide demand for agricultural products increases. The mechanization of agriculture brings positive quantitative and qualitative effects; however, the modernization of production tools (tractors and agricultural machinery) needs to be directly linked to increasing economic efficiency of use. Period of use and life expectancy of agricultural tractors can be increased by reducing the friction and wear that occurs among moving mechanical parts. A special case in point is the cold start process in compression ignition engines. In a cold start great forces develop, …

Determination Of The Impact Of Creeping Of Furniture Joints On Their Rigidity, Jerzy Smardzewski, Robert Klos, Beata Fabisiak

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The study presents research results on the effect of creeping on changes in the rigidity of selected joints used in constructions of upholstered furniture, expressed as the substitute modulus of elasticity Ez. The modulus was calculated analytically for this purpose using the Maxwell-Mohr constitutive equation. In addition, actual runs of creeping curves were determined and a theoretical model well describing the obtained results was selected. Simultaneously, a detailed statistical analysis was carried out. It was found that creeping exerted a significant impact on the mechanical quality of the examined joints by reducing their substitute modulus of elasticity by 11%-16%. This …

Performance And Power Comparisons Between Fermi And Cypress Gpus, Ying Zhang

LSU Master's Theses

In recent years, modern graphics processing units have been widely adopted in high performance computing areas to solve large scale computation problems. The leading GPU manufacturers Nvidia and AMD have introduced series of products to the market. While sharing many similar design concepts, GPUs from these two manufacturers differ in several aspects on processor cores and the memory subsystem. In this work, we conduct a comprehensive study to characterize and compare the architectural features of Nvidia’s Fermi and AMD’s Cypress GPUs. We first investigate the performance and power consumptions of an AMD Cypress GPU. By employing a rigorous statistical model …

On The Persistence Properties Of The Cross-Coupled Camassa-Holm System, David Henry, Darryl Holm, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

In this paper we examine the evolution of solutions, that initially have compact support, of a recently-derived system of cross-coupled Camassa-Holm equations. The analytical methods which we employ provide a full picture for the persistence of compact support for the momenta. For solutions of the system itself, the answer is more convoluted, and we determine when the compactness of the support is lost, replaced instead by an exponential decay rate.

Particle Trajectories In Extreme Stokes Waves Over Inifinte Depth, Tony Lyons

Articles

We investigate the velocity field of fluid particles in an extreme water wave over infinite depth. It is shown that the trajectories of the particles within the fluid and along the free surface do not form closed paths over the course of one period, but rather undergo a positive drift in the direction of wave propagation. In addition it is shown that the wave crest cannot form a stagnation point despite the velocity of the fluid being zero there.

Mathematical Modelling At Secondary School: The Macsi-Clongowes Wood College Experience, J.P.F. Charpin, S. O'Hara, Dana Mackey

Articles

In Ireland, to encourage the study of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects and particularly mathematics, the Mathematics Applications Consortium for Science and Industry (MACSI) and Clongowes Wood College (County Kildare, Ireland) organized a mathematical modelling workshop for senior cycle secondary school students. Participants developed simple mathematical models for everyday life problems with an open-ended answer. The format and content of the workshop are described and feedback from both students and participating teachers is provided. For nearly all participants, this workshop was an enjoyable experience which showed mathematics and other STEM components in a very positive way.

Weyl-Titchmarsh Type Formula For Periodic Schrodinger Operator With Wigner-Von Neumann Potential, Sergey Simonov, Pavel Kurasov

Articles

Schroedinger operator on the half-line with periodic background potential perturbed by a certain potential of Wigner-von Neumann type is considered. The asymptotics of generalized eigenvectors for the values of the spectral parameter from the upper half-plane and on the absolutely continuous spectrum is established. Weyl-Titchmarsh type formula for this operator is proven.

Mass Transfer From A Vertical Flat Plate Due To Natural Convection With A Constant Counterflow, David Mcdonnell, Brendan Redmond, Lawrence J. Crane

Articles

This paper first examines the mass transfer from a vertical flat surface of a soluble material due to natural convection. A perturbation term is then introduced into the stream function to model the introduction of a constant counterflow. The effect this counterflow has on both the overall mass transfer and the overall velocity profile is studied in detail.

Bayesian Model Selection For Exponential Random Graph Models, Alberto Caimo, Nial Friel

Articles

Exponential random graph models are a class of widely used exponential family models for social networks. The topological structure of an observed network is modelled by the relative prevalence of a set of local sub-graph configurations termed network statistics. One of the key tasks in the application of these models is which network statistics to include in the model. This can be thought of as statistical model selection problem. This is a very challenging problem---the posterior distribution for each model is often termed ``doubly intractable'' since computation of the likelihood is rarely available, but also, the evidence of the posterior …

A Secondary Monitor Unit Calculation Algorithm Using Superposition Of Symmetric, Open Fields For Imrt Plans, Adam Michael Watts

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: To perform a secondary dose calculation for intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) or volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans to a point on or off axis within 2% using open field data.
Methods: An independent dose calculation algorithm has been developed for complex fields with multiple segments. The algorithm subdivides dose into the contributions from each opposing leaf pair for a given multileaf collimator (MLC) configuration. Leaf pair dose is determined by drawing four rectangular fields based on leaf positions, which are symmetric about the point of calculation. Superposition of these fields yields the dose from the leaf pair to …

Endomorphisms Of Abelian Groups With Small Algebraic Entropy, D. Dikranjan, Ketao Gong, P. Zanardo

Articles

We study the endomorphisms ϕ of abelian groups G having a “small” algebraic entropy h (where “small” usually means ). Using essentially elementary tools from linear algebra, we show that this study can be carried out in the group , where an automorphism ϕ with must have all eigenvalues in the open circle of radius 2, centered at 0 and ϕ must leave invariant a lattice in , i.e., be essentially an automorphism of . In particular, all eigenvalues of an automorphism ϕ with must be roots of unity. This is a particular case of a more general fact known …

On The Long Duration Of Till Sheet Construction : A Reassessment Of How Quaternary Grounding Line Translations Relate To Near-Surface Seismic-Stratigraphy Of Eastern Ross Sea, Antarctica, Sydney Grace Bowles

LSU Master's Theses

Previously acquired seismic surveys provide strong evidence that the post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) deposited a back-stepping succession of seismically-resolved grounding zone wedges (GZWs) in eastern Ross Sea. However, the chronology of WAIS retreat is debated. The conventional view is that three GZWs (Red, Brown, and Gray Units) were deposited since the LGM. An alternative view, based on recent radiocarbon dates, is that the youngest GZW (the Gray Unit) was deposited during the LGM. If correct, then the older GZWs (Red and Brown Units) were deposited prior to LGM. A recent study (Bart …

Atp-Induced Changes In F-Actin Expression Via P2x7, Taylor Hircock

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this research project was to study the effects that extracellular ATP has on F-actin levels in cells containing the P2X7 purinergic receptor. MAC-T cells which express the receptor were exposed to various levels of ATP and stained to undergo flow cytometry. In this case, F-actin was labeled with 488 phalloidin which was able to be detected by the flow cytometer. This was done in conjuction with controls to show how ATP exposure affected Factin levels. Based on these results, the cytoskeletal changes taking place in the cell in response to ATP were able to be measured and …

Portrayal Of Latinos In Young Adult Fiction, Jennifer Cole

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to establish criteria for rating Latino literature for cultural and literary quality and the existence of Latino stereotypes. This study determined the themes found in the young adult fiction selected and if those themes reflected positive character and cultural traits. The criteria gained through research can be used by teacher librarians to support and enhance the Latin collection in the Storm Lake Middle School library and others by creating guidelines literature should match. The questions asked in the study were: 1. What examples of Latino stereotyping are found in the Storm Lake collection and …

The Effects Of Stem Inquiry Practices On English Language Acquisition In A First Grade Classroom In Thailand, Rebecca J. Fuhrman-Petersen

Graduate Research Papers

This mixed-methods teacher action research project describes and interprets the effects of one American teacher's bicultural critical inquiry praxis on Thai first grade students' English language acquisition. The observations were conducted for one full academic year for 37 students enrolled in a bilingual, multicultural STEM pilot program. The results are based upon participant observation and narrative inquiry from a qualitative standpoint. However, quantitative methods were used to analyze 1) students' questioning, answering techniques and physical activities based on video recordings of STEM lesson activities; 2) students' growth in critical thinking skills as measured by their writing in relation to their …

Path Dependence In Tax Subsidies For Home Sales, Lily Kahng

Faculty Articles

At a time of looming fiscal crisis and virtual unanimity that tax expenditures must be curtailed, tax subsidies for homeownership stand out as among the most costly and unfair of these expenditures. As a result of tax subsidies for homeownership, the government foregoes billions of dollars in revenue each year, most of which benefits wealthy taxpayers. Moreover, subsidies for homeownership encourage overinvestment in housing and underinvestment in other business sectors, which impedes economic productivity, jobs creation and the ability of U.S. businesses to compete in the global marketplace.

Scholars and commentators have analyzed extensively the tax subsidy for home mortgage …

Evaluation Of The Live Release Rate Formula & Implementation: Example Analysis Of The Effects Of Mandatory Spay/Neuter Laws On Intake At Shelters Within Dallas, Tx, Amanda Laskoe

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

It is estimated that shelters spend $1 billion annually dealing with unwanted animals (Frank & Carlisle-Frank, 2007). Approximately six to eight million cats and dogs enter U.S. shelters each year, and three to four million of these animals are then euthanized (HSUS, 2009). These are staggering statistics, yet in the early nineties, euthanasia estimates ranged from seven to seventeen million dogs/cats annually (Frank & Carlisle-Frank, 2011). Such improvements have resulted from a greater understanding of, and resources being dedicated to, the issue. Unfortunately, the rate of decline for euthanasia has slowed because programs have not been accurately targeted toward animal …

Screening For Elder Mistreatment Among Older Adults Seeking Legal Assistance Services, Sheryl M. Strasser, Megan Smith, Scott Weaver, Shimin Zheng, Yan Cao

ETSU Faculty Works

Introduction: The aging population is a rapidly growing demographic in the United States. Isolation, limited autonomy, and declining physical and mental health render many older adults vulnerable to elder mistreatment (EM). The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of EM among a sample of older adults using legal assistance services in Atlanta, Georgia.

Methods: Researchers administered surveys to consenting older adults (aged 60þ) in 5 metro Atlanta community centers that hosted legal assistance information sessions as part of the Elderly Legal Assistance Program. The surveys screened for risk factors and prevalence of EM risk using …

Stochastic Representations Of The Matrix Variate Skew Elliptically Contoured Distributions, Shimin Zheng, Chunming Zhang, Jeff Knisley

ETSU Faculty Works

Matrix variate skew elliptically contoured distributions generalize several classes of important distributions. This paper defines and explores matrix variate skew elliptically contoured distributions. In particular, we discuss two stochastic representations of the matrix variate skew elliptically contoured distributions.

Motivation In Athletes With And Without Autism Spectrum Disorder: Sq, Eq And Aq Relationships To Preferred Feedback, Julia C. Harreschou

Scripps Senior Theses

All athletes are driven by motivation, sources or reasons to push their bodies to their limits and continue to do so regularly. There have been several studies concerning motivation in typical athletes, and many regarding social motivation in people with High Functioning Autism (HFA), however most have been limited to children, and there have been no investigations into HFA athletes’ motivation. The current study looks into the role of social dimensions in athletics, and tests how one’s gender and placement on the Empathy Questionnaire (EQ), Systemizing Questionnaire (SQ), and on the Autism Questionnaire (AQ) affect intrinsic motivation in athletics. It …

The Spillikin (Vol. 30), Valparaiso University

The Spillikin - The Christ College Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Stages Of Occupational Regulation: Analysis Of Case Studies, Morris M. Kleiner

Upjohn Press

Kleiner examines occupations that are at various stages of regulation to determine to what extent regulation has influenced the individuals in the occupations, consumers, and related occupational practitioners.

Bgsu Graduate College 2013-2014 Catalog, Bowling Green State University

Course Catalogs

Bowling Green State University graduate catalog for 2013-2014.

Impact Of Pre-Columbian Agriculture, Climate Change, And Tectonic Activity Inferred From A 5,700-Year Paleolimnological Record From Lake Nicaragua, Jennifer E. Slate, Thomas C. Johnson, Ted C. Moore

Biology Faculty Publications

Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America, is a promising site for paleolimnological study of past climate change, tectonic and volcanic activity, and pre-Columbian agriculture in the region. It is near the northern limit of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which brings the rainy season to the tropics, so effects of decreasing precipitation due to southern migration of the ITCZ through the Holocene should be observable. Because fault zones and an active volcano lie within the lake, the long-term impact of tectonic and volcanic activity can also be examined. Finally, the fertile volcanic soils near the lake may have …

A Comparative Analysis Of Point-Of-View Modeling For Industrial And Technology Education Courses, Petros J. Katsioloudis, Todd D. Fantz, Millie Jones

STEMPS Faculty Publications

(First paragraph): Enrollment in technology education at the college level has been declining (Isbell & Lovedahl, 1989; Volk, 1997; Daugherty, 1998; Hill, 1999; Ndahi & Ritz, 2003; Moye, 2009). It is essential for technology teacher educators to investigate ways to increase the enrollment in their programs, or the profession may fail to provide technology teachers in the future (Ndahi & Ritz, 2003). A solution that several institutions with technology education programs have adopted is the offering of the program via distance learning. Distance learning “allows participants to collapse time and space” (Cole, 2000, p. ix). According to Flowers (2003) technology …

Ricean Over Gaussian Modelling In Magnitude Fmri Analysis—Added Complexity With Negligible Practical Benefits, Daniel W. Adrian, Ranjan Maitra, Daniel B. Rowe

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

It is well known that Gaussian modelling of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) magnitude time-course data, which are truly Rice distributed, constitutes an approximation, especially at low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Based on this fact, previous work has argued that Rice-based activation tests show superior performance over their Gaussian-based counterparts at low SNRs and should be preferred in spite of the attendant additional computational and estimation burden. Here, we revisit these past studies and, after identifying and removing their underlying limiting assumptions and approximations, provide a more comprehensive comparison. Our experimental evaluations using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve methodology show that …

Considerations In Designing Human-Computer Interfaces For Elderly People, Drew Williams, Mohammad Arif Ul Alam, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed, William Chu

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

As computing devices continue to become more heavily integrated into our lives, proper design of human-computer interfaces becomes a more important topic of discussion. Efficient and useful human-computer interfaces need to take into account the abilities of the humans who will be using such interfaces, and adapt to difficulties that different users may face – such as the difficulties that elderly users must deal with. Interfaces that allow for user-specific customization, while taking into account the multiple difficulties that older users might face, can assist the elderly in properly using these newer computing devices, and in doing so possibly achieving …